ST.
LOUIS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT HONORED
John Bell Awarded LaGasse Medal for HSOC Work

WASHINGTON,
D.C. - The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recently awarded
the LaGasse Medal for landscape architecture to John O. Bell, ASLA,
of St. Louis. The LaGasse Medal is given semi-annually to a landscape
architect who has made notable contributions to the management of natural
resources, the management of public lands or the management of other lands
in the public interest. Bell will be honored for his work on the Henry
Shaw Ozark Corridor (HSOC) in the Missouri counties of St. Louis, Jefferson
and Franklin.

"The
HSOC has helped to preserve and strengthen the public lands along the
corridor and develop a network of coordination and planning among the
stakeholder agencies," said Russell Volmert, president of the St. Louis
Chapter of ASLA. "[John's] has helped educate the public on stewardship
of their natural environments. The result is one of the most environmentally
sound and visually beautiful corridors in metropolitan St. Louis."

Bell
co-founded the Henry Shaw Ozark Corridor (HSOC) Foundation with Walter
Eschback and Terry Whaley in 1994. The HSOC Foundation published "A Management
Plan for the 21st Century" in 1995, the first comprehensive smart-growth
plan developed for the area. Since then Bell has worked with landscape
architects, planners, park professionals and concerned citizens to protect
and enhance the corridor's natural heritage - the Ozarks - while promoting
sustainable economic and community activity. He currently serves as president
of the board of directors for the HSOC Foundation.

The natural
resources along the Interstate 44 corridor include the Meramac River,
the Route 66 state park and the Hilda Young state forest. The HSOC Foundation
is the only organization in St. Louis that promotes sound management and
development the corridor, which starts in the historic town of Kirkwood,
Mo., and proceeds through approximately 24 miles of suburban and ex-urban
area to the Shaw Arboretum in Gray Summit. The communities and open space
along the corridor are the center of suburban sprawl development, of the
southwestern St. Louis metropolitan area.

"Our
natural resources are not endowed with a civic voice," Bell said. "Leadership
can provide such a voice. Our history, natural and cultural, instructs
this type of leadership."

"The
landscape is a living system which is subject to thoughtful change," Bell
said. "I maintain that every landscape has its own unique and special
signature, a signature that serves the explicit needs and desires of its
users."

Bell's
award was one of two LaGasse Medals given this year, the other going to
former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt in the non-landscape
architect category. The LaGasse Medals are named for Alfred B. LaGasse,
who served as executive director of the American Institute of Park Executives,
executive vice president of the National Recreation and Parks Association
and executive director of ASLA and the Landscape Architecture Foundation.
Throughout his life, LaGasse was dedicated to the proper management of
the nation's public lands and judicious use of the country's natural resources.

Bell
will be presented with the LaGasse Medal in a ceremony at the ASLA Annual
Meeting in Montreal, Sept. 21-25.

Founded
in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the national
professional association representing 13,500 members nationwide. Landscape
architecture is a comprehensive discipline of land analysis, planning,
design, management, preservation and rehabilitation. ASLA promotes the
landscape architecture profession and advances the practice through advocacy,
education, communication and fellowship. For more information, visit ASLA
Online at www.asla.org.